Ljusdal Municipality

Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden

Ljusdal Municipality Ljusdals kommun
Municipality

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 61°50′N 16°05′E / 61.833°N 16.083°E / 61.833; 16.083
Country	Sweden
County	Gävleborg County
Seat	Ljusdal
Area ^[1]
• Total	5,609.84 km² (2,165.97 sq mi)
• Land	5,256.7 km² (2,029.6 sq mi)
• Water	353.14 km² (136.35 sq mi)
	Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population (31 December 2023)^[2]
• Total	18,538
• Density	3.3/km² (8.6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+7 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	SE
Province	Hälsingland
Municipal code	2161
Website	www.ljusdal.se

Ljusdal Municipality (Ljusdals kommun) is one of Sweden's 290 municipalities within Gävleborg County. Its seat is Ljusdal.

The municipality was formed in 1971 by the amalgamation of the market town (köping) of Ljusdal (instituted in 1914) with the rural municipalities Järvsö, Färila, Los and Ramsjö.

Ljusdal is known for its successful bandy team and for the annual Bandy World Cup that used to be held in the town.

Geography

Geographically the town is located on the shores of the river Ljusnan, along the shores of which Sweden's northern main line railway (Norra Stambanan) stretches. The municipality calls itself "Sweden's nearest Norrland", with Norrland being historically how Sweden's north was referred to. Geographically, the municipality is located at the centre of Sweden.

In this large municipality (Sweden's 25th largest) there are several nature activities one can enjoy. Along Ljusnan there are a total of 40 kilometers of water ways, with possibilities for sailing, rafting, fishing or taking a tour with the tour boats. Hamra National Park is also located partly within the western parts of the municipality.

Localities

Figures as of 2004, from Statistics Sweden:

Ljusdal 7,559
Järvsö 1,907
Färila 1,542
Tallåsen 807
Los 469
Hybo 351
Ramsjö 306
Hennan 227
Korskrogen 202
Kårböle 134

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Ljusdal Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.^[3]

In total there were 14,791 Swedish citizens of voting age resident in the municipality.^[3] 48.1% voted for the left coalition and 50.8% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Location

Residents

Citizen
adults

Left vote

Right vote

Employed

Swedish
parents

Foreign
heritage

Income
SEK

Degree

Färila

2,102

1,700

43.8

55.1

22,627

Järvsö N

1,307

1,078

50.6

48.3

23,964

Järvsö V

1,917

1,551

52.3

46.7

22,027

Järvsö Ö

1,109

875

56.1

43.0

24,800

Korskrogen-Kårböle

1,154

906

46.5

52.2

22,912

Ljusdal C

1,448

1,217

51.6

47.1

20,350

Ljusdal N

1,712

1,411

47.2

51.7

24,288

Ljusdal S

1,503

1,173

46.5

52.3

24,063

Ljusdal V

1,978

1,596

45.7

53.4

25,913

Ljusdal Ö

1,816

1,087

54.0

45.0

17,601

Los-Hamra

655

530

47.3

50.5

18,611

Ramsjö-Hennan

545

487

42.2

55.7

21,018

Tallåsen

1,541

1,180

41.4

58.2

25,234

Source: SVT^[3]

History

The area had a large immigration from Finland in the 17th and 18th century in the western part of the municipality known as Orsa Finnmark (in Dalarna). Still there are many names which trace this Finnish influence. In Ljusdal a museum dedicated to the regions history is now located in a former dairy, and in Järvsö there is the Stenegård cultural centre.

The population was boosted when the mainline railway was constructed here in the late 19th century.

Tourism

Tourism in the municipality is focussed on Järvsö. Popular tourist activities in Järvsö include skiing on Järvsöbacken and visiting Järvzoo.

Nature

Gröntjärn Nature Reserve is located in Ljusdal Municipality around 20 kilometers north of Ljusdal. Here several Kettle holes formed during glacial retreat, where ice blocks melted under sediments. The pool is not fed by streams but by groundwater and can see large variations in the lake level. The ground water source also gives the lake it is characteristic turquoise-green colouring.^[4]

Sister cities

Denmark : Glamsbjerg
Norway: Tynset
Finland: Ikaalinen
Estonia: Vinni
Germany: Schlieben

Gallery

Ljusdal Municipal Building on Rio square
The Water tower
The church of Ljusdal
Ljusdalsbygdens museum
Historic Borrgården

References

^ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 2014-01-01. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
^ "Folkmängd och befolkningsförändringar - Kvartal 4, 2023" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Valresultat 2022 för Ljusdal i riksdagsvalet" (in Swedish). SVT. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
^ "Gröntjärn". Länsstyrelsen Gävleborg. Retrieved 10 May 2014.